Page 52 of Bully's Second Chance
“Okay, she said breathlessly, “here it goes. After we got married, things went downhill quickly. I realized how much he worked, and the house got very lonely very quickly. I did some things I’m not proud of—”
“You cheated.”
She sighed. “Yes, I cheated. And then, when your father found out, he got me back by cheating.”
“Oh, boy,” Lily whispered.
I squeezed her hand to keep myself at bay. “Anything else?”
She snickered. “A lot, else. We fought all of the time. We tried counseling and going on weekend vacations to try to rekindle things. We even tried opening up our marriage and seeing other people in the hopes that we’d figure out that what was best for us was right in front of our very eyes.”
“I take it that didn’t happen.”
I heard tears rise up in her voice. “No, it didn’t. Your father fell in love, and when I asked for a divorce, he wouldn’t give it to me. He said it was what I deserved after everything I had put him through. I had to get a very expensive lawyer just to get out of the marriage, but your father doubled-down on custody and dug up everything he could in order to prove me to be an unfit parent.”
“And what did you do to get yourself labeled that way.”
“Nothing, actually. But, your father did use my abusive childhood with my own mother as a way to forecast how I might treat you, or some bullshit like that. The judge saw his side of the story—I’m sure with a pocket full of money—and they granted your father sole custody. And from there, he ripped away any privileges I might have had at seeing you.”
“Jesus,” Lily whispered.
My lower lip quivered before I stomached the sheer anger that almost erupted from my throat. She was right; I hated her answers. To think that my father was capable of such atrocities made me sick to my fucking stomach. But, I could also tell they were honest answers.
“Is that it?” I asked.
She sighed. “Yeah, that’s it.”
I leaned forward. “Then, let me give you my side of things. I was six when you left, Mom. Six. You left me with a kiss, a promise that you’d call me soon, and then there was nothing. Nothing except Dad.”
“Your father orchestrated—”
I stood quickly to my feet. “I don’t give a shit what he orchestrated, Mom. When he died, I got access to all of his records. To everything. I know how much you won in the divorce. I know how much you walked away with. And if you really wanted to, you could have thrown that money into fighting for me. Into seeing me. You could have if you wanted to, but you didn’t. Why? Why didn’t you fight for me?”
I heard her crying softly over the phone as Lily slipped her hand into mine. And as I sat back down, waiting for her answer, the sheer audacity of what came out of her mouth blinded me with rage.
“I just wanted a fresh start, that’s all. Is that so bad?”
“Jax, take a breath,” Lily whispered.
I drew in a broken inhalation through my nose before I closed my eyes. “Thanks for calling, Mom. You’ve been a big help.”
“There’s just one more thing!” she said quickly.
I cleared my throat. “You better make it quick.”
“Did your father… uh, well… did he possibly…”
“She wouldn’t,” Lily murmured.
I looked over at her just to make sure my anger didn’t take over my entire being. “You want to know if my father left you anything in his will, don’t you?”
Mom swallowed down her tears. “Yes, I do.”
I could have wrung her neck with my bare hands had she been standing in front of me. But, when Lily cupped my cheek, I reached out for her and drew her into a hug. I held her as tightly against me as I could possibly stand as my body trembled with fury.
Then after I calmed down, I straightened my back and picked up the phone receiver. “No, Mom, Dad didn’t leave anything to the woman who abandoned us for fifteen million dollars. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve still got a will to execute and a company to run. Have a nice life.”
I dropped the phone onto the receiver and turned the speakerphone off. Then, I sat back in my chair and sobbed. I let all of the anger and all of the frustration flow down my cheeks, and Lily did her best to clean them up with her warm, soft hands.
